Grease plug and wrench



. G. M. BRADRICK Nov. 24| 192.5- 1,563069 GREASE PLUG AND WRENCH Fnedvec. 1:5. '192s Patented Nov. 24,

erronea@ M. BRADRICK, F Los ANGELES, oaLFonnIA, Assienon ontalvEf-rrrirfi?ffioY CARMAH n.l Renens or, erm-Nevins, CALIFORNIA Y vaimais@ mice mnwamicn.

' i. Applicationea December 13,1e2s. seriarNo. $20,403. j

v` fBe' it known that I, GEORGE M. Bsannicn,

qa citizen of theUnited States, residing at v stood that this'inven'tion comprises a novel yplug 'for use in grease cups, such as are used in the llubrication of engine parts, and lalso wrench especially designed [forl use lftherewith. -I f v l Havin'ga specialreference togrease'cups l formed integral with "the-moving parts of `Alocomotives', 'such grease cups being commonlyjprovided with mere solid plugs, for adjustment therein, in' "such lmanner Vthat each ,plug may serve not only lto retain a 'i fquax'tityl of grease within the cup butalso -to force the same `into the bearingsfof side or lmainvrods or other v`wearing parts,- it y1s kany Vobject of this invention to provide a l novel plug which, being hollow, v'may retain a comparative large 'quantity oflubricating j grease and wh'ich being "compar'atiyely jlight, shallA be less liable than is a'A vsolid l"plug to'jbe' 'jarred vand thrown from@ its seat during the .advance of the locomotive Aupon whichthe samemaybe'employed: A

It is a' further .object of' this invention tofr` provide af'novel grease cup from comp'aratively inexpensive'materials, which may in fact-"be waste sections of old boiler tubes, or the like, externally threaded atv one end and closed at theother Aend by'mere crimp- I ing or by crimping and welding in a simple 'mannenthe mentioned crimping being such ,as to contribute to the retention of the plug within'y a grease cupand also such 'as to l -A selfretaining grease cupv of comparativelyl f v.large capacity from inexpensive materials.

facilitatethe use of al novel wrench, adapted i to interit with' the crimped end of said 45; .l

. y, As indicated above, the objects of my in-l vention thus comprise theproductionof a ,A preferred embodiment of my invention in yplugs for. grease cupsmay'be not only reliably v self-retaining but also, tota large extent, self-feeding, the increased volume ofv y. vgrease conned within lthesame having the y tendency, when'suchgrease is warmed'- up during the operation of an engine, to force suitable quantitiesofthe lubricant therefrom into a bearing with which the grease cup may `be connected; and, althoughmy novel `grease plug `may not require thejeinploym'ent'of a lock` nut to aid in its-reten5 Y tion, thel relatively simple preferred com stri'iction of my novel grease 4c vupr is 'such' ofjanordinary to lpermit the optional use lock nut therewith. l

Other objects of my vinvention appear vfrom ythe following description"` of"`aV preferred embodiment thereof, and from-fthe appended claims, taken in' connectionk witl'i L fthe aceompanyingdrawings, in whichyr Fig. lis a diaggminmmatic'section'throughl `a bearing provided with a "grease cup in which 1` afplug ofmyY novel design is lemployed.r f

Fig. 2 is an elevational view the character shown in Fig; 3V isa plan view end' of the same plug.

Figs.v l. and 5 planatory views, at right angles off'o'neanother, of a wrench suitable forrus'einconnectionwith Vthe plug ldisclosed inFigslQ r Referring purpose of illustration, being aside or main cured to the rodl 1, but which'is preferably integraltherewith, as shown,` and isfprovided at its bottom with a duct or passage 4c, through ywhich grease 5, or its equivalent, may be deliveredr upon the bearingsurface of the pin or lshaft 2. i l

vCorning now'to the strictly novel yfeatures of myinvention, it being usual'to employ ay mere solid'plug to confine grease within. a cup of the character referred to,"Ire place the solid plug referred to bya hollow plug, exteriorly threaded at itsrlowe'r end. Regardless of the specific construction of theouter endplug referred to, theuse' of a' hollow plug is advantageous in permitting a cup of predetermined @size to cpo-operatev therewith inthe retentioirof a .compara-l tively large volume ofv grease, this retention 1 of a large volume 'being yof importance not 1,113'V are respectively self-exf so l te the detaiisfthat.spain-c1, .embodiment yof my invention 'chosen `for L showing 'theouter only as obviating the necessity of frequent replenishment of the supply of grease or other lubricant but also as tending, by reason of a greater relative expansion which results from the mentioned increase in Volume, to render the delivery of grease through the duct et practically continuous and automatic, heat imparted to the entire organization during the operation ofthe locomotive being sufficient to cause a partial or complete melting and expansion and agitation of the grease sufficient to insure continuous and satisfactory lubrication even to the end of a comparatively long run.

In order to provide a hollow plug 6 of the type referred to with a head at its outer end sufficiently rugged to permit of the application of a wrench thereto, and in order to effectively close the outer end, and in order to permit of the utilization of short or scrap pieces of pipe or tubing in the construction of myhollow plugs, I prefer to .complete the same by deforming the outer end of each plug, assuming the same to have been originally circular in cross section throughout its length, in a manner best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, this deformation being preferably such as to give the end of each plug a configuration resembling a Maltese cross or star, any liability to leakage being preferably obviatcd by a final electrical or other welding, this being preferred to mere soldering to close seams 7 in the head 8. By the deformation and welding referred to, a grease-tight hollow plug may be formed very simply and eX- peditiously from inexpensive material, and not only the lightness of the plug but the slight incidental deformation of the outer portion of the threaded body thereof may contribute to the secure retention of said plug within a cup 3, although permitting of a ready removal thereof upon the application of a suitable wrench, one advantageous type of wrench being shown in Figs. L and 5 as comprisingra head@ provided with aperture Al0 substantially in the form of a Maltese cross or star, and adapted to interit with the outer end 8 of a plug G, handle 1l of said wrench being of any usual or preferred form.

Although I have herein described one complete embodiment of my invention, it will be `obvious that a hollow plug of the general character described may be formed in various ways, and also that various features of my invention might be independently employed, without .involving a departure from the sphere andscope vof my invention as the same is indicated above and in the following claims.

IVhat I claim is:

l. In a lubricating device, a grease cup vprovided with a hollow plug consisting of a section of piping eXteriorly threaded at its inner end and closed at its-outer end by deformation intoa form resembling a cross or star.

2. In a lubricating device, a grease cup provided with a hollow plug consisting of a section of piping exteriorly threaded at its inner end and closed-vat its outer end by deformation into a form resembling a cross or star.

3. A hollow grease plug consisting of a piece of pipe externally screw threaded and having one endcrimped into a form resembling a cross Vor a starand welded to close the end.

et. A hollow grease pluglconsisting of a piece of pipevexternally` screw threaded and having one end crimped and welded to Vclose the end, the crimping extending to the screw threading serving to deform theupper ends A of the threads so they will jam when screwed into a cup to hold the plug from unscrewing. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speciication.

GEORGE M. BRADRICK. 

